News

Woman who drove on sidewalk to avoid school bus forced to hold 'idiot' sign

By Thomas J. Sheeran

Associated Press

Posted:
11/13/2012 12:34:58 PM PST

Updated:
11/13/2012 12:35:00 PM PST

CLEVELAND -- A woman caught on camera driving on a sidewalk to pass a Cleveland school bus that was unloading children stood in the cold Tuesday at an intersection holding a sign warning people about idiots.

The sign read: "Only an idiot would drive on the sidewalk to avoid a school bus."

A Cleveland Municipal Court judge ordered 32-year-old Shena Hardin to serve the highly public sentence for one hour Tuesday and Wednesday for the Sept. 11 citation.

She arrived bundled up against the 34-degree cold, puffing a cigarette, wearing head phones and avoiding comment as passing vehicles honked.

Satellite TV trucks were on hand to stream the event live near downtown Cleveland.

Hardin's license was suspended for 30 days and she was ordered to pay $250 in court costs.

Lisa Kelley, whose 9-year-old daughter boards the bus which Hardin had been passing on the sidewalk, said the sentence fit the crime.

"She's an idiot, just like the her sign says," Kelley said as she watched Hardin lean against a fence, her head down and her eyes hidden by dark glasses.

"She did this almost every day last year," Kelley said. "She won't stop laughing. She's not remorseful, she laughed at every court appearance. She's still laughing, so she needs to be humiliated like this."

Kelley said she was only sorry the woman was standing in the cold and not the rain or snow.

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Bill Lipold, 37, who works nearby in the blue-collar neighborhood of older homes and factories, yelled at Hardin: "Why do you hate kids?"

He hopes the punishment works. "How else are you going to stop her from doing it again? She really didn't show remorse for her action after being caught, so you've got to try something," he asked.

With two schools located within two blocks of the location and busy commuter traffic, the area can be risky for youngsters walking to class, Lipold said.